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A spokeswoman said this meant the investors would be setting targets for the same points in time as countries will under the accord.
“The idea is that investors and countries can influence each other towards higher levels of ambition as they set such targets, especially when they set them in synchronicity, and when they proceed in lock-step,” she added.
The announcement about the alliance described the asset owners’ commitment to carbon-neutral investment portfolios by 2050 as “one of the boldest actions yet by the world’s largest investors to decarbonise the global economy”.
“By committing to transitioning their investment portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, asset owners are significantly raising the bar for other investors, industry associations, and, importantly, the global economy,” it said.
To maximise their impact, current members of what has been dubbed the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance actively encouraged others to follow suit.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, restricting warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels would require emissions to decrease to net zero by 2050.
In terms of how the goal of carbon-neutral portfolios would be achieved, the statement said that members of the alliance would immediately start to engage with investee companies to ensure they decarbonised their business models.